Overview:An offensive-minded shooting guard who has had a hard time finding a long-term home. Possesses solid size and strength for an NBA shooting guard. Brings a lot to the table as an athlete. Has terrific leaping ability and foot speed. Can put points on the board, but is too one dimensional. Has a very nice jumper and can make plays at the rim. Not going to bring much intensity to the defensive end. Was a highly touted prep player than burst onto the national scene late in his high school career, but failed to make a major impact at Florida State. Was supposedly encouraged to leave for the NBA following his sophomore season. Put up decent numbers in his two years as a Seminole, but obviously had a lot of work to do on and off the court to become an NBA player. Managed to earn a spot in the early second-round. Has bounced around the League, but put up huge numbers during his season in the NBADL. Has some nice tools, but needs to bring more to the table than scoring to stick in the NBA.

Offense: A very aggressive scorer who asserts himself in any game he plays in on the offensive end, for better or worse. Does most of his damage in catch and shoot situations or one-on-one. Has a very nice jump shot with great range. Gets a ton of arc on his jumper. Can go on impressive hot streaks from the outside. Capable of hitting shots of the dribble. Prefers to pull up when driving left, but doesn’t have much of an mid-range game. Can turn the corner and get to the rim. Loves isolation opportunities. Will try to break his man down off the dribble if he can’t blow by him. Shows average ball handling ability, something he must improve on. Has a quick first step, but isn’t capable of taking advantage of it enough. Will get a little too fancy with the way he finishes. Tends to be rather selfish. Forces things on a regular basis. Turns the ball over at a high rate. Capable of scoring, but needs to show a lot more versatility.

Defense: An undistinguished defender due to his lack of intensity. Will make an effort from time to time, but will make some mistakes. Doesn’t always get in a low stance, allowing his man to beat him off the dribble. Closes out with a sense of urgency on the shot, but too often gets out of position. Likes to watch the ball when in help side, making it tough for him to recover when the ball is moved around the perimeter. Shows flashes of ability. Has the size to contest the shots of most guards, but will let himself get too far out of position to be a factor. Doesn’t contribute much on the glass. Possesses the athleticism to be a capable defender, but needs to improve his fundamentals and intensity on that end to have any chance to stick in the NBA.

Wafter was one of the most effortless scorers seen in the Las Vegas Summer League, in fact tying the record set by Marcus Banks by putting up a 42 point effort in his last outing against the Knicks. Wafer might have been the best pure shooter seen here in Vegas, backing up his awesome 45% accuracy rate from the D-League (which is NBA range). He is fantastic coming off screens on the catch and shoot, sporting effortless mechanics, setting his feet perfectly, and showing great touch. He has range that extends well beyond the NBA 3-point line, and he showed this consistently every time he played or warmed up. Give him a second to set his feet and square his shoulders (it doesn’t even really take that long) and he’s almost automatic with his feet set. Coming off a screen, Wafer creates separation extremely well, which helps him tremendously in terms of getting his shot off. Lackadaisical off ball summer league defenses he saw here also played in a small part here, as after a full season in the D-League, he’s clearly mastered the art of stat-padding.

Wafer’s potential goes beyond his terrific shooting ability, though. He is also a fantastic athlete, sporting an excellent first step, and being very explosive getting off his feet. He’ll wow you at times with a monster dunk or two, but is still unable for the most part to fully take advantage of his tremendous gifts. The reason for that lies in his poor ball-handling skills, as the ball just plain and simple slows him down. This also limits his effectiveness finishing around the basket, as by the time he gets into the paint, he’s not in good enough control of the ball to finish in traffic.

Even though Wafer is clearly a fantastic shooter, he is nowhere near as good when he’s forced to put the ball on the floor and pull-up off the dribble. His mid-range game needs a lot of work, and expanding his game could be the difference between being a marginal NBA player to a legit rotation piece. He doesn’t get to the free throw line nearly as much as a guy with his physical tools should, even if on paper he’s an outstanding athlete. He also doesn’t contribute enough in the other departments of the game (3.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists), showing very little commitment to staying in front of his man on the defensive end, and not putting much effort into fighting through screens. In general, he showed a real lackadaisical approach to playing defense in summer league, which has to be a bit of a concern considering that he’s trying out for an NBA job. We’d be remiss not to mention the fact that he tends to shoot absolutely everything that comes his way. As a pure catch and shoot finishing specialist that might be OK, but if he’s to expect to carry more responsibilities on the offensive end, he must do whatever he can to shed the selfish tag that he’s rightfully earned with his shot-selection.

Despite the negatives mentioned above, Wafer is obviously an NBA player in terms of pure talent. As is often the case, though, it takes a bit more than that. Off the court he’s had issues starting in high school, and college, so continuing to maintain a mature, professional attitude will be essential for him moving forward. Wafer definitely deserves to be on an NBA roster next year and has the ability to carve out a nice niche for himself as he continues to expand his game.